The fairground was different after dinner. It had been noisily loose and untidy before, but now the mood was lighter, as though the entire camp had tipped into party time. Strings of lanterns drifted effortlessly across the night sky, swaying in fragile gusts of blue and gold, and in the distance somewhere around the midway a fiddle fought to keep pace with laughter and clapping. Mikey walked with his hands lodged in his hoodie pocket, his own feet falling into rhythm with Avery's before he even knew it.

He bit back a laugh against his teeth as they walked by a group of little campers racing along with sugar sticks clutched in their fists, pieces of candy snapping off onto the grass. "Okay," he leaned his head towards hers, "if we're going to locate Dylan, my guess is that he'll be where the snacks are. I mean look around here. If marshmallows are within eyesight, there's no way he wandered too far. Mathematically speaking, you're most likely to find him where there's food." He raised an eyebrow, his expression serious before the curve of his mouth turned up into a grin. "And hey, can't blame him. I’d probably do the same.”

They wove a little deeper into the crowd. The smells hit heavier here—oil from frying dough, the charred edge of grilled meat, and sugar syrup dripping off apples on sticks. Mikey tried to glance over the tops of heads, but the crowd near the food tents was too thick. A party of campers passed by them, arms laden with trays of fudge, and Mikey moved aside to allow them to pass through. His shoulder brushed Avery's in passing, a gentle brushing before he moved into place normally again. He found himself smiling, almost before he knew it.

From somewhere farther down the row, a cheer went up around one of the fire pits. The sound carried easily in the cool air, and the smell of smoke tugged right along with it. Mikey nodded in that direction. “Hear that? I’d bet anything that’s Dylan. Probably burning a marshmallow to a crisp and pretending it’s his signature recipe.” His grin widened at the thought.

He moved back onto his heels, thinking. "So what do we do then? We can tidy up the fire pits and catch him in the act. Or…" he indicated down the row of food tents, "bribe the cooks. Someone will have seen him making his way through here."

Overhead the lanterns flashed once, casting golden light upon Avery's hair, and Mikey hesitated a moment longer for her reply, as though the reply was more important than it should have been.

Interacting with: @Mikey Forville and @Dylan Astor Mentioning: N/A Date: 08/11/25

Word Count: 347

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The camp grounds were bathed in soft light as the sun began to set. Avery smiled brightly and sighed contentedly as the smells of dinner still lingered in the air. Even though she still didn't know where her cousin was, she knew he was nearby. Probably lingering in the shadows and trying not to be noticed too much. That was always the way he rolled. Avery nodded before she began to laugh. Even though Mikey and Dylan had only met a few times, they were very similar at times. "Good to know that whenever I lose either one of you, I know where to find you." The smells became stronger as they got closer to the food tents. So many smells filled her nose. Many that she didn't even recognize as they walked across the grounds in search for Dylan. It was the slight brushing of her shoulder against Mikey's that made all other thoughts disappear. It was a simple gesture of kindness as he moved out of the way of some other kids, but that simple gesture sent sparks up Avery and made her nearly shiver. She blushed slightly, but not enough to hopefully be noticed in the faint glow of light. That's when a cheer erupted from down where the fire pits were. Even before Mikey said anything, Avery knew exactly who had caused the cheer. Somehow her quiet and secluded cousin had become the highlight of the camp that night. How he had done that, Avery didn't know. A wide grin spread across Avery's face at the idea of catching her cousin in the act. It would be the perfect way to get back at him for all the teasing he had done to her earlier in the summer whenever she would get excited at the arrival of another of Mikey's letters. "Let's catch him in the act. Maybe the embarrassment of seeing people he knows will finally get to him." Avery laughed as she imagined the look of shock that would come up on his face at seeing them. It would be priceless.

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Mikey's laughter burst forth hard, the noise drowned beneath the buzz of music and conversation that surrounded them. "Right.” He rocked back on his heels, the smile freezing stubbornly onto his face. "Though… I don't know, Avery. If he's already got a fan base, we might be wading into enemy territory. What if he's bought off the crowd with burnt marshmallows and we'll be outnumbered or something."

He put his hands into the pocket of his hoodie and his eyes aglow with eagerness as he cocked his head toward the fire rings. "Still. Worth it. We go in undercover. Play like we're just passing by, then, bam catch." He scowled, setting his face in mock gravity, his brow knotted as if they were hatching a mission of the highest importance. "Stealth is the way. No laughter, no blowing our cover until the exact moment."

Then, not able to maintain the act for very long, he silently snorted and looked sideways at her. "Unless you can keep a straight face. I'm not so sure I can, you know." There was a teasing glint in his eye that faded after a moment and stayed on her longer than he intended before he turned his gaze back to the splash of firelight crawling far away.

The mob between them and the pit grew thin enough that he caught a glimpse, shadows of figures huddled around the fire, sparks flying up into the darkness. The fiddle continued to play some wild tune, but the voices were clearer, more audible. Among the din he could almost hear Dylan laugh.

Mikey gestured at the scene. "That's him. No question." He moved forward bumping into Avery's shoulder again as he shouldered his way through a group of older campers. The brilliance of the lantern on her face was there as she caught his eye and he turned back to her, his smile back in place.

Interacting with: @Mikey Forville and @Dylan Astor Mentioning: N/A Date: 08/11/25

Word Count: 209

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"Outnumbered? Maybe. Quite possible, actually. Though, if we stick together, we can do anything." Avery grinned as a slight blush crept across her cheeks. It had been so long since she had felt so happy and relaxed. She didn't realize until that moment how much she had actually missed seeing Mikey face to face. Avery laughed a little before saying, "Don't worry. As long as I don't make direct eye contact with Dylan, we should be okay. I agree about stealth as a tactic. It's the only way we'll be able to catch him in the act." This was going to be fun. More fun than the times Avery had dragged Dylan out of his bed at dawn to watch the sunrise or explore a new part of the woods behind their grandparents' house. That's when she heard it. A familiar laugh that she had heard many times over her years spent at her grandparents' house. Dylan. Their theory proved, Avery couldn't wait for the moment they caught him. This was going to be fun. "Let's do this." Avery whispered to him as she followed Mikey closely through the crowd. Once they got close enough, Avery couldn't wait for the final part of their plan. The element of surprise.

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The masses of humanity thinned as they walked into the light of the fire circles, the music rose and fell like a wave that refused to come ashore, and lantern light crawled up over shoulders and cheeks in glowing bands that flashed one second and died the next. The smoke rose in lazy streamers that imbued everything with a dreamlike sheen. Mikey dodged a tray of whizzing caramel apples, then guided Avery through a tight pass between two giggling campers. The earth here was squishy underfoot with grass flattened by foot traffic and a confetti of sugar crystals and popped corn.

They came to the perimeter of the first fire ring. Sparks flared when a figure prodded the logs someone shouted, and Mikey froze for an instant, almost there. The laughter had the wrong shape. He released it and guided them onward. Every few steps he'd caught a familiar face, a raised eyebrow, a distinctive coat, the blinding flash of a smile that he recognized. He knew that he should stop and say hello to some of them but wasn’t sure if he had the time at the moment.

They stretched across the line of food booths. Mist of steam shrouded the canvas at seams, and the fried dough aroma hung heavy as a blanket. A ladle banged, someone cried out in excitement "perfect," which was greeted by another bout of applause from farther back in the crowd. Mikey stood on his toes, attempting a good angle over shoulders and hats. Nothing. The central pit growled and died back down again, twisted faces silhouetted in the light.

"I think he’s close by," he panted, less for Avery's sake than for the need to keep up with the pace of the pursuit, and guided them into a narrower alley between stalls where the throng grew less dense, then halted as a burst of noise welled up against their right side. Mikey looked over that way and froze. Not him. Just a pair of campers showboating with skewers, one of whom was bowing as if he'd been given a medal. He grinned despite himself and kept walking.

The music accelerated to a speedier reel. Above, a procession of lanterns blew on a gust and bathed Avery's hair in a golden glow. He lost the plan for half a second, then got ahold of himself and nodded his chin toward the next circle of flames.They strolled past a pile of wooden crates and slipped into behind a tent canvas where the sound was dampened sufficiently to pick up voices instead. A low, familiar laugh haunted the edge of hearing and disappeared under a yell from the distant ring. Mikey stiffened, poised, but the moment did not happen again. He breathed, eyes wandering over the moving light on the far side of the canvas. And with that he took them back into the light, still seeking, the camp alive and kicking and Dylan exasperatingly still just out of their reach.

Interacting with: @Mikey Forville and @Dylan Astor Mentioning: N/A Date: 08/11/25

Word Count: 324

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Avery followed closely behind Mikey as the crowd closed in on them. The sound of the ground beneath them and the laughter of fellow students nearby kept her grounded. Kept her going even though her mind began to wander. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had so much fun. Her summer had been fun, but of course it had its moments. The dark times Avery knew would never leave her, but instead always come back to haunt her. Things she hadn’t even told Dylan simmered in her mind. What would everyone think of her if she told the full truth about her mother? Would they still think of her as the same brave Gryffindor or would they think of her as a broken girl with a broken past? Especially if they found out about her mother. A shout broke her out of her thoughts. An unfamiliar shout, but it had been loud enough to startle her. What was happening? She was never startled easily. Was something wrong with her? Avery rubbed her arm mindlessly, but quickly dropped it when she saw the eyes on her from in the crowd. She had to keep her head down. She had to focus. This plan had to work. Suddenly, she stopped. A familiar laugh arching over the voices of the crowd around the fire. Dylan. Avery nodded when Mikey panted out that Dylan was nearby. That laugh. It was familiar. Too familiar to be just one of her friends. She would never forget that laugh. It had to have been Dylan. “Follow me. I have an idea of where we can go.” Avery said as she took the lead. Her long hair carelessly placed behind her ear so she could see as she made a beeline for a small opening in the crowd far enough from the fire to be noticed, but close enough to work out how to surprise Dylan when they saw him.

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